A hypoxia-responsive synthetic gene circuit in mesenchymal stem cells enhances therapeutic angiogenesis through self-regulated VEGF delivery
If human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are engineered with a hypoxia-responsive synthetic gene circuit (HRC) controlling vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion, then they will induce superior and safer revascularization in a murine hindlimb ischemia model compared to constitutive VEGF expression, because the HRC will generate a physiological VEGF gradient that minimizes aberrant vascularization while matching the spatiotemporal demands of the ischemic tissue.